4 Trends in EdTech to Observe in 2018

Nowadays, the spread of technology is omnipresent in various sectors of life. The educational domain isn’t an exception for both educators and students as they can enjoy the benefits of technology on a daily basis. From machine learning to big data, and augmented reality to artificial intelligence, the year 2018 looks to be a disruptive year for the EdTech. So let’s observe the array of positive changes the digital transformation brings to classrooms across the globe.

AR/VR

The use of AR/VR is turning the traditional learning into something collaborative and interactive. Augmented and virtual realities have paved the way for transformative technology which enhances teaching methods while creating captivating and engaging lessons at the same time. For instance, applications like Unimersiv may transport students to the ancient times, and Cospaces makes possible to share students’ virtual creations with the world. Thus, virtual reality is regarded as the new way of increasing visual literacy and gain bigger attention of the class audience. Secondly, the idea of combining AR/VR/MR has a big potential for education as well.

Collaborative Learning

The impact of technology (no matter how modern and trendy it is) makes no difference if it doesn’t serve to the proper engagement of students. That’s why collaborative learning models work perfectly when it comes to intriguing students. After all, the collaboration as a process has been helping humanity to solve problems since the dawn of civilization. This technology helps students connect with one another in a fun yet proactive way. Synchronous and asynchronous workspaces transferred into tools like Google Apps for Education and Microsoft Classroom remove any socio-economic and geographical barriers among learners. No wonder that teachers who responded to the survey by Dina Drits-Esser and Louisa Stark in the Electronic Journal of Science Education listed collaboration in their top three priorities. As students collaborate on using shared resources, and work together on curating content, the creation of new content becomes a lot easier. Also, it worth noting that the investment of time into digitizing curriculum and earning management systems (aka LMSs) are projected to happen at a staff level.

Adaptive Learning

Adaptive learning is another significant trend which solves a crucial challenge in the learning process: this method engages learners of different abilities in the same classroom. Adequately used by teachers, machine learning powers adaptive learning systems and personalize the presentation of learning materials based on students’ learning speed, interest and problem areas. Machine learning along with natural processing and speech recognition technologies are also contributing to the development of chatbots (or conversational programs). The bots can be programmed to provide a wide variety of services such as tutoring or giving info.

Mobile Learning Solutions

As we’re going through the Smartphone Age, it’s apparent that technology-based learning and teaching methods are taking a new captivating shape. Various reports and studies only prove it: for instance, there was a 69% increase in overall in-app time in 2017 globally. These numbers affect EdTech as well: more and more educational institutions rely on mobile-learning, empowering learners to embrace this advanced educational technology with arms wide open.

Thereby, educators can rely on m-learning and provide responsive materials which leads to the emergence of more uniform educational content. M-learning applications enable teachers to deliver classes directly to the end users’ smartphones. They can also keep track of upcoming events for their students and provide a convenient access to their courseware on 24/7 basis. These features of m-learning offer increased student interaction and improve their engagement with fellow students.